WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -
The ninth-ranked Purdue women's golf team finished in second place at the 2009 NCAA Central Regional in Columbus, Ohio. The Boilermakers fired a 312 in the third round for a three-day total of 896 (295-289-312), to finish behind top-seed and No. 2-ranked UCLA.

By finishing in the top eight, Purdue will advance to the NCAA Championships for the 10th consecutive year, a feat matched by only three other Division I programs (Arizona State, Duke and Southern California).

The Boilermakers had three golfers finish in the top 15 and were led by sophomore Maude-Aimee Leblanc who finished fourth with a final round 76 after recording below-par rounds of 71 on Thursday and 69 on Friday.

LeBlanc's three-round tally of 216 placed her at even par for the tournament and gave her a two-shot edge over teammate Maria Hernandez who finished fifth with a three-round total of 218. Hernandez, ranked No. 7 nationally, was the most consistent Boilermaker at the par-72, 6,246-yard Scarlet Course at the Ohio State University. She opened play on Thursday with a 73, fired an even-par 72 on Friday and closed the tournamet with the lowest round of the day for the Boilermakers with a 73.

Sophomore Junthima Gulyanamitta tied for 12th despite carding a final-round 81. The native of Thailand finished with a tournament total of 226 (74-71-81, +10).

In addition to its team title, UCLA golfers finished first and second individually. Maria Jose Uribe won medalist honors, carding a three round total of 212 (69-70-73, -4), while teammate Stephanie Kono was one-stroke behind in second place at 213 (69-70-74, -3). New Mexico's Jodi Ewart finished third with a total of 215 (71-72-72, -1).

Of the eight teams to advance from the NCAA Central Regional, three are from the Big Ten Conference: the second-place Boilermakers, fifth-place Michigan State and tournament host Ohio State who finished seventh.

UCLA won the event, Wake Forest finished three-strokes behind Purdue for third place, Oklahoma State was fourth, Michigan State fifth, New Mexico sixth, Ohio State seventh and UT-Chattanooga finished eighth to secure the final team spot for the NCAA Championships.

The Boilermakers will compete in the NCAA Championships on May 19 to 22 at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Valley, Md., located outside Baltimore. The field will include the top eight teams from each of the three NCAA Regional tournaments and the top two individuals from each regional whose teams did not advance.

Georgetown University will serve as tournament host and more detailed information about the championships can be found by clicking here.